Metro Manila (CNN Philippines December 31) — A lawmaker is pushing for special powers for President Rodrigo Duterte to expedite the procurement and remove hurdles in the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program.
Under House Bill No. 8285 or the Bayanihan sa Bakuna Act, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said “there should be no delay in procuring the vaccines, especially since they are now available globally.”
“All channels – political, diplomatic, commercial – should be used to procure them expeditiously and without undue delay,” he added.
Under bill, Duterte will be authorized to exempt vaccine procurement from circuitous procurement laws; come up with a mandatory immunization program for healthcare workers and assume their medical bills in case of exposure to the virus, including side effects due to the administration of the vaccine; engage the Philippine Red Cross in the implementation of the program; liberalize granting of tax incentives to vaccine importation; create savings from unused funds that shall be directed to purchasing of vaccines; and allocate funds held by government-owned and controlled corporations and national agencies to procurement.
This will also expedite processing of private sector requests to import COVID-19 vaccines, and facilitate request of local government units to procure the same, provided that this shall not compete with efforts at the national level.
Phase IV requirement for vaccine approval may also be waived under certain conditions, Salceda said, while the Food and Drug Administration will be given authority to approve vaccines that have been successfully tested on Filipinos abroad.
The Foreign Affairs Secretary will also be authorized to explore diplomatic channels to hasten procurement, and other sources of funding will be identified that may be used to purchase vaccines.
The recently signed 2021 budget allots ₱72.5 billion for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines. Meanwhile, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Company of Johnson and Johnson will be the first COVID-19 vaccine maker to hold a clinical trial in the country after it passed the FDA’s final regulatory review.
